Tottenham right-back Kyle Walker says that new England manager Roy Hodgson was correct not take him to Euro 2012.

The PFA Young Player of the Year limped out of Sunday’s 2-0 win against Fulham and was ruled out of this year’s tournament less than 24 hours before Hodgson was due to announce his 23-man squad.

“Gutted to miss out but going with a broken toe would’ve been no good to anyone…I know the boys will go all the way!” Walker wrote on Twitter.

The 21-year-old was widely regarded as Hodgson’s first-choice right-back, but he left White Hart Lane in a protective boot after suffering from a broken toe.

However, Walker’s omission failed to open the door for Manchester City’s Micah Richards, who was surprisingly overlooked by the former West Brom boss.

Hodgson instead opted for Liverpool’s Glen Johnson and Manchester United youngster Phil Jones.

The England boss told reporters at Wembley on Wednesday: “It was difficult. In Phil Jones we have a player who has done well at right-back. It was one of Jones or Richards.”

Wed 16 May, 2012

Barcelona defender Dani Alves will miss the Copa del Rey final after breaking his collarbone at training on Wednesday.

The Brazil international right-back will have surgery later on Wednesday and club doctors Ricard Pruna and Carles Torrens are expected to reveal the full extent of the injury at a news conference on Wednesday night.

Alves, who was sent off in Sunday’s Liga clash with Real Betis, has been linked with a move away from Camp Nou this summer.

However, outgoing coach Pep Guardiola described the 29-year-old as irreplaceable after the game in Seville, while Barca midfielder Javier Mascherano hailed his fellow South American as the best right-back in the world.

Alves, however, will not be available for the Catalans’ Copa del Rey showdown with Athletic Bilbao at the Vicente Calderon on May 25.

Wed 16 May, 2012

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard is wary of the threat posed by Bayern Munich’s wingers heading into Saturday’s Champions League final.

Roberto Di Matteo’s team have it all to do if they are to lift the Champions League trophy for the first time.

A host of key players will miss the match through injury and suspension including captain John Terry, fullback Branislav Ivanovic, attacker Ramires and midfielder Raul Meireles.

Lampard insisted Chelsea will be not be overawed by the prospect of trying to defeat Bayern at their home ground, the Allianz Arena, but admitted wide pair Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben – who have scored 12 goals each this season – will be a handful.

“We’ll study them and we’ll watch through videos as we always do and we’ll look at their strengths and weaknesses,” Lampard said.

“We have to try and deal with their strengths – they’re quite evident with their strikers and the wingers they have – but as a team they are very strong. Then we’ll have a look at ways we can hurt them.”

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech said neither team had an edge in big-game experience, and predicted a tight contest.

“I think in terms of experience it will be equal because Bayern Munich played the final two years ago and we played it four years ago,” Cech said.

“In terms of on the pitch it will be more or less equal. It could be an advantage, but we lost the last final as they did, but now it’s a completely new game and we will see what is happening.”

Wed 16 May, 2012

Manchester City are stepping up their efforts to sign Athletic Bilbao striker Fernando Llorente, according to AS.

It is no secret that the Citizens are looking for a new centre forward after both Edin Dzeko and Mario Balotelli failed to live up to their potential.

The Premier League champions have been linked with a number of players over the last few months, AS claims they have made Athletic Bilbao star Fernando Llorente their number one target.

According to the Spanish newspaper, City officials have met the player’s brother and agent Chus on Friday 27th April at a winery in La Rioja.

The meeting took place just a day after Llorente scored the winning goal in Europa League semi-final clash against Sporting Lisbon.

Manchester City officials enquired about the possibility of signing the highly rated forward, but there is still a lot of work to be done if they are to wrap up the deal.

Athletic Bilbao are reluctant to part ways from their most prized asset, whereas the player himself believes his future lies at San Mames.

Wed 16 May, 2012

sporting lisbon (1)

Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets has called on his side to win the Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao.

After failing to win La Liga and the Champions League, the Catalan giants turn their attention to the cup final on May 25 in what will be Pep Guardiola’s last match on the club’s bench.

“We won our first final under Guardiola against Athletic, and he will leave with this exact same match, collecting many titles and installing a new philosophy,” Busquets said.

“This has been one of the best periods in the history of the club and the stint of a very special coach is coming to an end. He is the best there is.”

When asked about the managerial change at Camp Nou after the season, Busquets played down the fact that the club will lose one of the most successful coaches in their history.

“We have a young team, with a lot of ambition,” he said. “We have experienced this situation throughout the season.

“We have to prepare for a final, the coach will leave and we must keep working, whether or not this coach is around, whether or not Tito Vilanova is around. We have to win.”

Falling 13 days after Barcelona’s last La Liga game against Betis, Busquets is unhappy with the date chosen for the clash by the Spanish Federation.

“We would have liked to play the match at an earlier date so that some of us could go on holiday, others could join their teams for Euro 2012 and others to prepare for their teams’ World Cup qualifiers,” he said.

“Two weeks are a lot and we have to think positively to prepare for this match the best possible way.

“The federation did it thinking about a potential Champions League final between Spanish clubs.”

Wed 16 May, 2012

Fortuna Dusseldorf have been promoted to the Bundesliga after their playoff win over Hertha Berlin on Tuesday.

Dusseldorf took the honours in an ill-tempered second leg that saw flares thrown and a pitch invasion, wrapping up a 4-3 aggregate win over two legs with a 2-2 home draw.

Hertha Berlin were relegated to the second division with the capital reduced to a 10 men shortly before the hour mark when Anis Ben-Hatira was sent off for a second yellow.

The hosts, who scored two second-half goals in the first leg to stun Hertha, soon took a 3-1 aggregate lead when Maximilian Beister scored from 20 yards in the first minute.

Hertha equalised when Ben-Hatira headed in Ronny’s free kick and were later made to pay for several missed chances before the break.

Ben-Hatira was sent off soon after the resumption for a second booking and when Ranisav Jovanovic headed in off the post for Dusseldorf minutes later, the tie looked dead and buried.

Raffael sparked hope for Hertha with a thunderous shot to equalise five minutes from time but they were unable to get the third goal needed, either side of a 30-minute interruption in injury time as Dusseldorf fans poured onto the pitch.

It is the second relegation in three years for Berlin which is the only major European capital city without a top division football team.

Eintracht Frankfurt and Greuther Fuerth had already won automatic promotion to the Bundesliga while Kaiserslautern and Cologne were relegated as the bottom two.

Wed 16 May, 2012

fortuna dusseldorf (1)fortuna dusseldorf 16-05-2012 foto (1)

Fortuna Dusseldorf have been promoted to the Bundesliga after their playoff win over Hertha Berlin on Tuesday.

Dusseldorf took the honours in an ill-tempered second leg that saw flares thrown and a pitch invasion, wrapping up a 4-3 aggregate win over two legs with a 2-2 home draw.

Hertha Berlin were relegated to the second division with the capital reduced to a 10 men shortly before the hour mark when Anis Ben-Hatira was sent off for a second yellow.

The hosts, who scored two second-half goals in the first leg to stun Hertha, soon took a 3-1 aggregate lead when Maximilian Beister scored from 20 yards in the first minute.

Hertha equalised when Ben-Hatira headed in Ronny’s free kick and were later made to pay for several missed chances before the break.

Ben-Hatira was sent off soon after the resumption for a second booking and when Ranisav Jovanovic headed in off the post for Dusseldorf minutes later, the tie looked dead and buried.

Raffael sparked hope for Hertha with a thunderous shot to equalise five minutes from time but they were unable to get the third goal needed, either side of a 30-minute interruption in injury time as Dusseldorf fans poured onto the pitch.

It is the second relegation in three years for Berlin which is the only major European capital city without a top division football team.

Eintracht Frankfurt and Greuther Fuerth had already won automatic promotion to the Bundesliga while Kaiserslautern and Cologne were relegated as the bottom two.

Wed 16 May, 2012

The 38-year-old winger has been ever present since the rebranding of the top-flight back in 1992, recently breaking the 900 appearances mark in all competitions – all for the Red Devils.

During his time at Old Trafford, Giggs has lifted the league title 12 times, with two Champions League medals and whole host of other domestic and continental honours in between.

In a dominant night for United, Sir Alex Ferguson was named best manager.

The awards were launched by the Premier League to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the competition, voted on by a panel of leading football figures, journalists and commentators.

Giggs won PFA Young Player of the Year twice in succession and Players’ Player of the Season for his performances in the 2008/09 campaign, while claiming the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in the same season.

The former international captain also holds numerous records throughout the history of the Premier League, with such accolades as most capped player with 638 appearances, the only player to have played and scored in every season of the Premier League, as well as the first to score 100 goals in the league for United.

On being named the league’s best player, Giggs said: “It’s a joy to be a part of the Premier League, to see it right from the start to what it is now.”

Ferguson, meanwhile, has been involved in every season of the Premier League since its inception, having been in charge at Old Trafford since 1986.

He has managed the likes of Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, Roy Keane, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, who have undoubtedly contributed to his success along with many more household names.

The 38-year-old winger has been ever present since the rebranding of the top-flight back in 1992, recently breaking the 900 appearances mark in all competitions – all for the Red Devils.

During his time at Old Trafford, Giggs has lifted the league title 12 times, with two Champions League medals and whole host of other domestic and continental honours in between.

In a dominant night for United, Sir Alex Ferguson was named best manager.

The awards were launched by the Premier League to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the competition, voted on by a panel of leading football figures, journalists and commentators.

Giggs won PFA Young Player of the Year twice in succession and Players’ Player of the Season for his performances in the 2008/09 campaign, while claiming the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in the same season.

The former international captain also holds numerous records throughout the history of the Premier League, with such accolades as most capped player with 638 appearances, the only player to have played and scored in every season of the Premier League, as well as the first to score 100 goals in the league for United.

On being named the league’s best player, Giggs said: “It’s a joy to be a part of the Premier League, to see it right from the start to what it is now.”

Ferguson, meanwhile, has been involved in every season of the Premier League since its inception, having been in charge at Old Trafford since 1986.

He has managed the likes of Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, Roy Keane, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, who have undoubtedly contributed to his success along with many more household names.

Included in the squad are Benat Etxebarria from Real Betis, Isco of Malaga and Javi Garcia of Benfica, however many of these players can expect to be dropped after players from Chelsea, Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao have played in their upcoming finals.

Chelsea will play in the European Champions League final on May 19, while Barcelona take on Bilbao in the Copa del Rey final on May 26.

Del Bosque will name his definitive list on May 27.

“As you can see, we have included some players that have had a good season, and in the middle of the field we cannot just think of the immediate future of the European Championships, but we are thinking long term because in September we start the qualifying games to go to the World Cup,” Del Bosque said.

“We have to think we have a difficult group and we have to start to find other players in case we need them.”

Injury permitting, the likes of Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas and Fernando Torres can expect to be called into the squad by Del Bosque after they complete their club commitments.

And Spain’s head coach has yet to rule out Barcelona’s David Villa, who broke his leg at the Club World Cup in December.

“We know day by day the process where he is, the recovery process he is doing,” Del Bosque said.

“We have said that it is a particular case and 27th of May we will take the last decision.

“As you can see there are not players of Chelsea, Bilbao and Barcelona because still are playing and this is the case of Villa.”

Spain’s Preliminary Squad:

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Jose Reina (Liverpool), David de Gea (Manchester United)

Defenders: Juanfran (Atletico Madrid), Alvaro Arbeloa (Real Madrid), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Alvaro Dominguez (Atletico Madrid), Raul Albiol (Real Madrid), Jordi Alba (Valencia), Nacho Monreal (Malaga)

Midfielders: Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Santi Cazorla (Malaga), Jesus Navas (Sevilla), Benat (Betis), Javi Garcia (Benfica), Bruno (Villarreal)

Forwards: David Silva (Manchester City), Alvaro Negredo (Sevilla), Roberto Soldado (Valencia), Isco (Malaga), Adrian (Atletico Madrid)